Kitty Claws
by TheRegionsLegends
Summary: Modern world fem!Ash AU. Ash is a Persian hybrid working at a cosplay café with her crazy boss Colress. She didn't want to get mixed up with the likes of Giovanni (who liked to pet her ears), Cyrus (who is now a frequent customer), Maxie and Archie (who fight too much) in their bid to create as much chaos in her life as they could. She still kind of liked them. BurntLedgerShipping.
1. Kitty Kat!

Disclaimer: My name's certainly not affiliated with Pokémon –not unless I want to be sued .  
Story: Modern world, hybrid AU. Ash Ketchum was a Persian hybrid that worked at a crazy café with her crazy boss Colress. She really didn't want to get entangled with the likes of Giovanni, Cyrus, Maxie, and Archie in their bid to create as many chaos in her life as they could.  
Set as an AU.  
Spoilers: Nope.  
Warnings: Perverts, raunchy humor, weird humor, craziness, etc…  
Pairings: BurntLedgerShipping

**Kitty Claws  
**_Chapter One: Kitty Kat!_

Ash grumbled to herself, hating how the time seem to whittle away slowly. She was going to be late to her job. Again. Damn it all.

And to make it worse she had to use the bullet train to get there.

If anyone told you that the stereotyping of perverts around trains was just that –a stereotype –they're absolutely lying.

Her ears twitched in aggravation and the thought made her tail curl around her waist. She'd only been groped like 10 times over the past days! She swore she'd deck the next person that did it; and she meant 'person' too. Women could be just as bad!

Especially that crazy Purrloin hybrid that took this same train –Jupiter Hollister or something.

Honestly, Ash couldn't remember when she was too busy trying to escape from the purple-headed menace's grip.

Looking at the watch on her wrist, she knew she was just in time for the Japan Railway Yamanote Line's train to come in. She'd get on and then be on her way to Shinjuku, where her job was located.

The bullet train came in and she hurried in with the rush of the crowd, grumbling to herself at the press of bodies pushing up against her at all sides. She protectively curled her tail around her waist, and tried to not be jostled around too much.

She glanced around quickly and sighed in relief at not seeing the usual Purrloin stalker. However, the other quick stares (and some disgusted glances) made her cringe and slightly curl into herself.

Not only did she have to deal with the crowded train, but she also had to deal with those prejudiced jerks too…

At a particular jostle, she stumbled back and hit her shoulder against the side of the train. Mewling under her breath unhappily, she was surprised and wary when a hand touched her other shoulder. But whoever it was only helped right her, and when she looked up and saw who her helper was, she blinked and stared.

He was a foreigner, she was sure. Tanned skin and dark eyes, brown slicked back hair, and wearing a suit like almost everyone else on the train (meaning he was probably a salaryman). He was definitely taller than her, but that wasn't hard for anyone to be. She was stupidly short and she didn't care if she constantly pouted about that.

"Watch your step," he murmured, and she nodded quickly, her ears pressing down on her head.

Still, her fur rose in anxiety by his close proximity, and she spent the majority of the train ride being bothered by his presence.

Near the end, figuring she was home free, she had almost relaxed when suddenly a hand heavily landed on her head. She slowly turned her head and saw the man from before gazing out the window, but his arm was clearly stretched out and it was definitely his hand that was on her head.

"What are you –"

Before she could finish her incredulous questioning, his hand moved and then she realized _he was petting her_.

Worse still? She started purring. Of all things that had to happen then, when he started petting her head, a rumble started from her chest and then moved up, and then she was starting to purr.

She was embarrassed as all hell.

And clearly so was he, by the hint of red on his cheeks. Thankfully, the train stopped and she realized she had to get off then. When the doors opened, she rushed out of there, with a red face and refusing to look back.

Why did she have a feeling this day was going to be one of the worse days in her life?

* * *

Ash rushed the rest of the way to her job, knowing that if she slowed down she'd be late. Her legs burning, she managed the last push and rushed through the doors of the café.

"You're late," Misty, a Vaporeon hybrid, told her dryly.

"Nuh uh!" Ash stuck her tongue out. "I am not!"

She looked at her watch and started to pout. She was late by five minutes, damn it! She could've sworn that she was making good time on her way there.

"Is my kitty cat here?" a familiar voice asked excitedly.

Ash rolled her eyes and took a step back, just as the owner of the café tossed himself at her, missing her by inches and landing on his front on the floor.

"Aw, Ash-kitty, that wasn't nice~" her eccentric boss sighed.

"Colress!" Misty slapped her tail against his blond head. "Will you quit it already? And quit bothering Ash especially!"

"You're mean, Misty," Colress smiled widely, before turning to Ash. "Ah, sorry, sorry. You know I'm always happy when my favorite Persian hybrid comes."

"I'm the only Persian hybrid in Japan, or at least in Tokyo," Ash said in amusement. "I'm sure I'm the only one you know."

"Which makes you special," Colress finally got up from the floor, patting himself down. "Go get dressed in the back. You already have a customer, even though I told him you wouldn't start your shift until around now. He's been waiting for around 15 minutes, I think?"

Ash looked at him in surprise, but nodded. "Okay, I'll get dressed. Could you tell him to wait for a little while longer, so I can get dressed in my uniform?"

"Of course," Colress reached out and fondly patted her head. "Do good work today!"

Ash beamed happily at him. "Okay!"

She walked passed him and headed to the back, where she found her dressing room. One of the great things about this café was that it was able to afford dressing rooms for every hybrid working there.

Currently, there was Misty, who (as a Vaporeon hybrid) had glistening blue skin, the scales winding up and down her body in swirling patterns. There was a dark blue spiky ridge going along her spine, meeting from her neck to the end of her tail. She had a white ruff around her neck, as well as a ridge on her forehead. Her tail actually ended in a split fin.

There was also Dawn, who was a Piplup hybrid. The penguin-like girl had a smooth beak, with light blue feathers lining her arms and legs, as well as dark blue feathers mixing with her dark blue hair, and then moving down her neck and looking like a cape, and then further covering her back.

Ash also was friends with May, a Torchic hybrid, and Iris, an Axew hybrid who had started a little after Ash had at the café (although Ash had been one of the first hired).

May was also avian-like, with a mix of orange and yellow feathers, with a particularly noticeable tuff on top of her head and around her brown hair.

Iris, on the other hand, had more reptilian grayish-green skin, almost scaly. There were two small tusks protruding from the sides of her mouth, and a tall, curved horn near the top of the back of her head. She also had a short, rounded snout for a nose.

The last of the workers there was a newbie who had just started working that week -a Fennekin hybrid named Serena. Her large yellow ears were pointed and resting nicely on top of honey brown hair, with dark orange tuffs of hair nestling in the inside of them. Yellow fur lined her body, and her nose was pointed and black, elongated from her face and on top of a white muzzle. From her cheeks, white hair lengthened to the sides.

They all had different personalities, but Ash liked all of them and made friends with each girl. It was lucky enough to find so many hybrids in one place, more so that they could even find work and work together at that.

Knowing she had limited time, Ash grabbed her uniform and quickly changed to it. The French Maid outfit was silly, but part of the job description.

After all, one doesn't just work at a cosplay restaurant without cosplaying.

Started 12/9/14 – Completed 12/9/14 (Part I)  
Started 12/11/14 – Completed 12/11/14 (Part II)

**A/n: Eh, this was originally two parts, but Google Docs lies about word count so I had to combine the first two chapters to make it longer. It's still not long enough for my standards. Oh well. Anyway, this is an branch story for the IPI collaboration part. I hope every enjoyed the beginning, and please leave a review!**


	2. Black and Blue, All Over You

Disclaimer: My name's certainly not affiliated with Pokémon –not unless I want to be sued .  
Story: Modern world, hybrid AU. Ash Ketchum was a Persian hybrid that worked at a crazy café with her crazy boss Colress. She really didn't want to get entangled with the likes of Giovanni, Cyrus, Maxie, and Archie in their bid to create as many chaos in her life as they could.  
Set as an AU.  
Spoilers: Nope.  
Warnings: Perverts, raunchy humor, weird humor, craziness, etc…  
Pairings: BurntLedgerShipping

**Kitty Claws  
**_Chapter Two: Black_ _and Blue, All Over You_

Cyrus Akagi was a successful business man. He had created his business from scratch and expanded it to be where it was today. He didn't care for many things, and he had no patience for frivolities or for what people called 'spirit.' It was a waste of time and he saved his energy for matters that should actually concern him.

Which brought the question to ask himself why he was in a _cosplay restaurant_.

It had been brought to his attention that his secretary, a Purrloin hybrid named Jupiter, had been harassing a Persian hybrid regularly on the bullet train on the way to work. It had bothered him for some reason, so he had sought out where this Persian hybrid could possibly be located at.

That led to him finding out that the 17 year old female worked at the ExoCos Café, which was a café run by a group of hybrid females and owned by a male human. The set up seemed right out of a manga or anime.

At the moment, he'd been seated and was waiting for her. He knew the owner had told him she wouldn't be by yet, but he decided it didn't matter and he would wait for her. And then the owner came not long after and told him that she was getting dressed and would serve him soon. He didn't know why he suddenly felt nervous, but he pushed the feeling away.

He also admitted, just to himself, that he was uncomfortable in this setting. Not just because the café was full of hybrid waitresses (his company willingly employed them, though it wasn't full of them like _Gio_ Corp.), but because they were all wearing fancy, expensive and lacy _French Maid uniforms_.

Each waitress wore a uniform that had a mid-thigh skirt that fluffed out and was made with plenty of frills and lace. The connecting torso garment was just as frilly and lacy, clinging tight to their bodies and especially highlighting their bosoms. Each of them were uniquely different from each other, being different types of hybrids.

Honestly, he was surprised to see so many of them gathered in one spot.

If he recalled, hybrids were rare and most people were wary and even outright despised their presence. Employment for them wasn't so high either. It meant more likely that this place, despite being created and owned by a human male, had specifically targeted hybrids to be employees and had given them a place to seek work at.

It was ironically very humanitarian of that odd male –

"Welcome home, Master, to the ExoCos Café," a female voice suddenly said to his side, and he turned to face whoever it was, slightly startled from his thoughts.

The Persian hybrid his secretary had stalked in particular had _very_ long legs that were accentuated by the short skirt ensemble. Light-haired fur dusted her body, and on top of the black hair on her head, lay two rounded ears that were rimmed black as well.

The small, shy smile on her muzzle showed two pointed teeth from her upper jaw, and three thick whiskers on either side of her cheeks twitched the longer he continued to stare at her. Alongside her honey eyes, tinted red, there was also the trademarked red jewel in the center of her forehead.

Her tail had a curl at its end and swayed slightly. Suddenly, the tail went upright.

"Oh no, her tail's up!" he heard someone say and then all of a sudden, Cyrus found himself sprawled on his back on the floor after the feline hybrid had pounced on him. One of her claws threaded through his hair slightly.

"Mou! Your hair is so soft and really light blue! I really like it!"

Cyrus stared up at her grinning face in bewilderment.

She was pulled off of him by the blond owner, who had introduced himself as Colress earlier.

Colress smiled slightly. "Sorry about that. Ash here has a rather...odd fetish for hair, particularly men's hair. Just be warned that if you see her tail go up, she's likely going to pounce. Not that it matters if you notice or not –she's quite fast!"

Cyrus couldn't help but continue his bewildered watch of the events. This was...like nothing he'd ever experienced before. It was, if he could describe it all, "weird" as Mars (one of his more dedicated employees) would say.

Colress pushed the Persian hybrid away. "Go get ready to serve him," he muttered at her, and she left with a distinctive pout. Colress then turned back to him.

"She largely tends to communicate with body language at times, so if you pay attention, you'll mostly understand her and any hidden meanings she may convey," the blond said smartly, pushing up his glasses. "Although she's the only Persian hybrid I've encountered, I've also deduced from observations that due to her lithe muscles, she walks about without any sound and it'll be hard to not be startled by her sudden appearances."

Colress rummaged around in one of his pockets, before pulling out a ribbon that had an attached bell to it. He tossed it to Cyrus, who caught it numbly.

"Tie that around one of her wrists. It'll marginally make the situation better," Colress suggested. "You'll also find it hard to sneak up on her, since her whiskers are very sensitive to the changes in air movements. Trust me, I continuously test that theory," he said wryly.

Cyrus wondered if he only explained about Ash's abilities as a hybrid, or it was done for all the hybrids. It would make sense, considering the variety of hybrids working there, and people would probably be curious. It was also probably a mandatory part of this café, being that the hybrids _were_ the main attraction, and not just the cosplaying part of the place. It would be ideal to have the hybrids entertain the customers with their unique attributes, and even be a condition of customers in having a hybrid, rather than a mundane person, as a waitress.

"Ah, here she comes!" Colress nodded at him, before excusing himself.

And then Ash was back, bowing profusely in apology.

"It's fine," he held up a hand, and still processing the inner workings of this place.

"Again, welcome home, master," she re-greeted him, holding out a wipe towel and a menu for him.

He took them from her and got up from the floor, seating himself at the table. Seeing the food, he also wondered if everyone there had the same on their menu from every other hybrid. It couldn't hurt to ask…

Ash scrunched up her nose, her muzzle twitching in thought.

"Eh, I think we have different stuff. Like Misty, for example, can't really cook anyway. So most of the stuff on there are things we can cook individually, or food that's ordered from the back, where our cook Cilan makes all the main dishes."

He looked at the main food menu, and saw that _omurice_, spaghetti, and ice cream were some of the more popular dishes and desserts and were what was some of the things ordered from the back. The drinks included certain brands of beer and even had champagne on there.

When he turned to the back of that, he saw what was Ash's personal menu. It listed her current menu food for the day, which made him assume that it was changed up every day and that she had a variety of cooking skills and was one of the better cooks amongst the maids.

Curiously, he looked at the next part of the menu, and saw it held extracurricular stuff. He almost dropped it though, by seeing what was included for a cosplay restaurant.

Apparently, customers could ask to take a polaroid picture with the waitress, play cards, video games, or even schedule a photography session with the maid. But then there were more unusual choices, such as ear cleaning, a foot or hand massage (although it seemed like Ash did full massages, according to this menu), or even have "dates" with the maids.

There was also that…

"Why would one ask to be slapped and why is it so expensive?" Cyrus was taken aback by the inclusion of it on the menu.

Ash laughed, though a tinge of exasperation was in her tone.

"It's actually a popular addition for some people. It's expensive to discourage the request, and Colress doesn't want someone to end up suing for assault or something, but you know...people have their specific tastes..."

"How long...how long do I have you for?" he asked, his nervousness coming back again.

"It depends on what food and services you order for," she explained, giving him an encouraging smile.

"...I'll order ramen," Cyrus decided rather anticlimactically.

"Yes, Master! Right away!"

There had been a point to his visit, he was sure. He just...couldn't recall after all of this.

Started 12/13/14 – Completed 12/14/14  
Started 12/15/14 – Completed 12/16/14

**A/n: So haha! Cyrus has arrived and is totally confused. Totes awesome for us though, eh? I hope everyone enjoyed and liked this chapter! Thanks to all those who faved and alerted. Please continue to lend your support and send in reviews, favs, and alerts!**


	3. Here, Kitty, Kitty

Disclaimer: My name's certainly not affiliated with Pokémon –not unless I want to be sued .  
Story: Modern world, hybrid AU. Ash Ketchum was a Persian hybrid that worked at a crazy café with her crazy boss Colress. She really didn't want to get entangled with the likes of Giovanni, Cyrus, Maxie, and Archie in their bid to create as many chaos in her life as they could.  
Set as an AU.  
Spoilers: Nope.  
Warnings: Perverts, raunchy humor, weird humor, craziness, etc…  
Pairings: BurntLedgerShipping

**Kitty Claws  
**_Chapter Three: Here, Kitty, Kitty~_

Cyrus was, though he didn't say anything, rather impressed when Ash expertly cut the thick noodles with her claws (after she'd washed them, and he also found out then that they were retractable). All the ingredients were cut up using a knife, for smaller pieces, and then she was cooking it altogether.

He also wouldn't admit that he'd expected ramen of the instant kind, and hadn't expected her to actually "cook" ramen and he'd get a gourmet meal out of this. Well, he supposed that proved her culinary skills he'd guessed at…

"Here, Master," Ash returned with two bowls. "Would you like me to sit with you?"

"Yes, that would be preferable. I actually have something to discuss with you," he finally got his wits together and remembered why he was there in the first place.

She sat down opposite him with a quizzical look on her face, so Cyrus decided to get it over with.

"My employee has been harassing you on the train," he started out quietly. "I would reprimand and order Jupiter to come and apologize to you, but she's capricious and pretty much ignores everything that doesn't fit her way."

Ash instantly recognized who he was talking about, if the quiet hiss and the darting of her eyes everywhere counted for anything.

"She's not here," he reassured her. "However, I came to apologize on her behalf, and of the company she represents. As her employer, I feel I have some sort of responsibility for her behavior."

Ash waved a furred hand. "It's alright. You're not at fault and she's…" She huffed and didn't continue that line of thought. "Let's just enjoy the food, okay?"

Cyrus agreed and thought things had gone rather well...and with the first bite, he decided he was actually a huge fan of her cooking now.

Perhaps he would continue to come here, if only for the food and company…

* * *

"I will see you at home," Colress told her as she got ready to leave for the day.

She nodded at him, and then made her way back to the train station. It was there when she remembered the incident of that morning, and she rubbed a hand down her face.

How embarrassing! And she had started purring too!

Ash tentatively slipped into the train, looking around and not seeing either that mysterious foreigner or that crazy Purrloin hybrid. Thankfully, at that hour, it wasn't as crowded, so she had plenty of space and took a seat right after, seeing that neither of those two were in sight.

But just then, right before the doors were to be closed, the same man from that morning came through the doors. He spotted her right after she had, and looked vaguely uncomfortable before resolutely coming towards her.

She tensed up, body coiled to spring into action and run away. However, he stopped an arm's length away from her, so she reluctantly stayed put, watching him warily.

"About this morning," he murmured. "I apologize. That was...inappropriate of me. I hadn't actually meant to do that either."

She awkwardly continued to sit in her seat, before nodding jerkily.

"It's fine. I hadn't been that bothered by it anyway. Just...don't do that all of a sudden again," she said, deciding to just make peace with what happened and him.

He gave a sharp nod, before holding out his hand. "My name is Giovanni."

She firmly grabbed it with her own hand, glad that her claws were retractable and wouldn't make this handshake even more awkward than it already had to be.

"I'm Ash," she introduced herself as well. "Pleased to meet you."

She noted how his eyes darted up quickly to her head and ears, and inwardly sighed. He cleared his throat nervously, and she had a vague sense that he wasn't usually the type to get nervous.

"I...I honestly don't know why I'm so fascinated, or why I can't help myself, but...If you want payment, I'll gladly pay, but...Would you...could you let me pet your head?" he asked with much difficulty on his part.

She gave him a wide-eyed stare, caught off guard by the unusual request. Then again, she worked in a cosplay restaurant, and technically she'd had odder requests than that…

She looked around and saw the empty bullet train. At least there was that...Looking back up at him, she saw he was glaring a hole into the floor, face slightly red.

"O-okay," she muttered, and his head snapped up for him to stare at her.

Ash completely blamed Colress and her job for making her unusually unbothered, compliant, and used to weird requests, so much so that she didn't even blink before accepting them anymore.

He sat down beside her, just sitting there for a second. And then his hand moved out and he was reaching for her head. She held still and waited for his hand to come into contact, and when it did, she closed her eyes and wasn't able to keep in her purring.

Ah well. This was one request that didn't seem so bad to her.

Ash hadn't quite expected her evening to turn out like this. There she was, with some strange man petting her head and scratching behind her ears. Admittedly, it _did_ feel very nice though…

It was also, strangely, making the ride to their stop rather peaceful. With no one else there too, it was quiet and less raucous as it had been that morning.

She started feeling drowsy and almost started to drift asleep, when the train came to a stop. She blinked her eyes awake, realizing in embarrassment that she'd almost laid herself across his lap and had relaxed way too much.

Clearing her throat, Ash sat up immediately and ignored her flushed cheeks.

"So, um, okay. Hope you're happy with that...I'm just going to go now," she forced out, ready to just run away.

"Actually, here," he handed her a card, and she realized it was his business card. "Truthfully, I admit I found that relaxing and enjoyable. If you wouldn't mind coming into my office every day, I will willingly pay you any amount you suggest."

She was taken aback by the offer. "Well, the thing is, I have work through the week. I start from 10 to 7, so I'm not sure how that would work out."

Giovanni frowned. "I see. Where _do_ you work at?"

Ash didn't want to answer that for two reasons. One, should she really be telling a complete stranger (who, additionally, seemed utterly fascinated by her ears and petting her) where she worked at? Two, she was a bit embarrassed to admit she worked at a cosplay restaurant. Plain and simple.

"I, uh, work at the ExoCos Café," she revealed, since she was sure the name wouldn't ring any bells. It wasn't like it was widely known…

He didn't seem like he recognized it, so at least that part was a relief.

"Then how about this –while I'll work out about the week, at least on the weekend, would you consider coming to see me? I promise nothing untoward will happen," he stated professionally.

She wrinkled her nose and thought about it. He just wanted to pet her head and ears...which was still odd in and of itself.

"Mou, I guess that's fine. As for payment…" she thought hard on it. "I want the best sushi in Tokyo ready for when I come! Aizawa's Wayside!"

The thought almost had her drooling.

He looked at her disbelievingly. "Are you sure you don't want money? Or the newest music player, or _something_? I _can_ pay you quite a bit, I assure you."

Ash blinked at him. "But I like sushi."

"...Very well then." He pointed to his card in her hand. "Just go to that address and ask for my office. I will have them know prior that you're allowed to see me at any time."

She suddenly wondered if he was some sort of bigshot. From the sounds of it, he was and she started feeling wary again.

"I should be off now," he said reluctantly. "Thank you for your time."

He hesitated before giving her head one last rub, causing her eyes to flutter close and a quiet purr to minutely escape from her.

And then he was gone and she realized she needed to get off too, before she got stuck on the train and ended up having to get off at the next stop.

She rushed her way out of the train and to her destination, sure that Colress might've even beat her home, if she had really taken as long as she thought.

* * *

Ash finally reached the microapartment she shared with Colress, heading inside the tiny place and seeing the inside still dark, which meant Colress was still back in the café and dealing with managerial stuff.

She turned on the lights to the single-room apartment, revealing the kitchenette to the top corner on the right side, the tiny hallway which led to the bathroom next to it, and the sitting/sleeping area that made up the majority of the apartment.

"Mou, I'm hungry~" she pouted.

Just thinking about the theoretical sushi of earlier was making her hungry. Deciding she'd have a snack before going to sleep, she closed the door behind her and headed to the kitchenette, opening the fridge to grab the leftover _anpan_ she had made yesterday.

However, as she looked for the bread with sweet bean paste in it, the fridge held no sign of her desired snack.

Instead, a sign was taped to the inside of the refrigerator.

_Sorry! Was hungry, so I ate your anpan. Hope you don't mind?_

_Love Matthew (hearts!)_

Ash stared at the note for a second. And then she threw up her hands, instinctively pushing out her claws and gesturing a throttling movement. Why that Mew hybrid punk! She had half a mind to find her idiotic friend, wherever the hell he was at (even if it was at that school of his), and make _him_ into an _anpan_.

"Idiot! Idiot, idiot! You jerk, Matthew!"

Irritated, she slammed the fridge back close and decided she'd go straight to having her night shower. She hurried with that, too irritated to take her time, and got dressed in her nightwear quickly.

She still had to put out the _futon_, so she rushed to do that since she wanted to go to sleep already. Once the _futon_ mattress was laid out, she grabbed the blankets and pillows next, and dumped them on top of it. She was feeling lazy, and Colress didn't care anyway.

Ash easily just plopped onto her side of the mattress, and threw the blanket over her, cuddling into it as she yawned and prepared to go to sleep.

Her vision started to go blurry with sleep. A blurry blond figure appeared, doubling with the hazy dream-like version that she also began to see. His hand buried into her hair.

"_Dreams are nice."_

She wasn't quite sure whether or not she was dreaming that, but it was very familiar.

Started 12/16/14 – Completed 12/17/14 (Part I)  
Started 12/17/14 – Completed 12/17/14 (Part II)

**A/n: Things are starting to heat up, eh? Mwaha! One by one, the bosses seem to be popping up and causing Ash trouble! If you're enjoying this crazy ride, please continue to support by providing reviews, alerts, and favs!**


	4. Sweet Dreams Made

Disclaimer: My name's certainly not affiliated with Pokémon –not unless I want to be sued .  
Story: Modern world, hybrid AU. Ash Ketchum was a Persian hybrid that worked at a crazy café with her crazy boss Colress. She really didn't want to get entangled with the likes of Giovanni, Cyrus, Maxie, and Archie in their bid to create as many chaos in her life as they could.  
Set as an AU.  
Spoilers: Nope.  
Warnings: Perverts, raunchy humor, weird humor, craziness, etc…  
Pairings: BurntLedgerShipping

**Kitty Claws  
**_Chapter Four: Sweet Dreams Made_

_The streets were crowded, with the usual merchants yelling out their prices and trying to entice buyers to their stalls. That day was the weekly market fair, and there were plenty of items to go around, from produce to sweets, summer dresses to infinity scarves._

_A lone hybrid peeked out from around the corner of the building, looking longingly at some sata andagi. She could smell the sweet deep fried buns of dough all the way from where she was hiding._

_She wanted some, and she was so hungry…._

_Face smudged and wearing worn out clothes, with dirt marking places here and there and threads coming apart from the fabrics, she dared to reveal herself out to the public, heading hesitantly towards that stall with the confectionary._

"_Isn't that a __**hybrid**__?"_

"_What kind is she?"_

"_She looks like some sort of cat…"_

"_She looks absolutely __**filthy**__."_

_She didn't care what they said, though it hurt to hear. And she hated that her sensitive ears could hear from so far away, enough that she could hear people talking about her even that far out._ _Instead, she focused on the stall that was within reach, ignoring the fearful look on the owner's face at the sight of her._

_She pointed a clawed finger in the direction of the dessert._

"_Please," she began, voice hoarse. "I don't have money. May I please have one?"_

_The owner grabbed one of the buns and threw it at her, causing her to hastily reach up and grab it, fumbling clumsily before grabbing hold._

"_There! Now get out, you mangy cat!" the owner yelled, throwing her a disgusted look._

_She flinched and nimbly darted away, using her long legs to make great strides away from that place._

_When she was far enough away, finding a nice field of grass in between the road and a canal, she quickly gobbled up the food. It wasn't enough to make her hunger go away, but it slightly alleviated the pain in her stomach. And its sweet, yummy taste more than made up for it…_

_Sighing to herself, she fell onto her back and lay on the grass, calmly but sorrowfully staring up at the clear, blue skies._

_It was still so lonely._

_Her whiskers twitched and she felt the presence of another person in her vicinity. She quickly jumped onto her feet, hissing in the correct direction of the intruder, who looked surprised to see her react so fast and so aggressively._

_The blond man held up his hands peacefully, one of them holding onto a paper bag that held a familiar sweet smell._

"_Are you still hungry?" he asked kindly._

_She watched him suspiciously, but he just held out the paper bag._

"_I bought you some more of that sweet you seemed to like," he said. "I didn't think you would be full with just one."_

_She stared at him some more, before cautiously coming over and taking a sniff. Seeing and sensing no deceit so far, she snatched the paper bag out of his hand and opened it up, peering inside curiously._ _She purred happily and inhaled deeply as she saw the sweets. She dug one out and nibbled at it._

_He walked closer to her, causing her to eye him in suspicion again, but she said and did nothing. All he did in the end was sit down next to her, so she decided to sit as well._

"_I'm Colress," he introduced himself. "What's your name?"_

"_Ash," she murmured. "My name is Ash."_

_He looked at her curiously. "Most hybrids tend to change their names. Did you? It doesn't sound like it, but I could be wrong."_

_Ash looked up at the bright sky._

"_My mother gave me that name. I want to treasure one of the few gifts she gave me."_

_She smiled sadly at blue skies that reminded her of a happier life._

_He watched her silently, before he reached out and rubbed her head gently, giving her a warm smile as he buried his hand in her hair._

"_Dreams are nice."_

_Somehow, to know that he somehow understood she still dreamt of her mother and of a kinder life, made things a little bit better for her._

When Ash's eyes awoke from the dream, still so vivid in her mind, she could feel the tears prickling at the corner of her eyes. She sniffed a little, rubbing at her eyes to make the tears go away. Looking to her side, she saw Colress already asleep, though the eccentric man had forgotten to take off his glasses again.

She sighed and reached over, carefully taking them off and folding the earpieces in, before she reached up and placed it on the floor and above the mattress.

Consequently, she wondered why she'd dreamed of the time when she first met Colress.

* * *

Ash couldn't go back to sleep after that, so she got up carefully, trying not to wake Colress (who idiotically tended to work himself into the ground and forget he still needed to eat and sleep). Once she was up and Colress was still knocked out, she headed over to the kitchenette. She might as well cook them breakfast already.

Deciding a traditional Western breakfast would do for the day, she started to take out some eggs and bacon, and got out some bread. Scrambled eggs and bacon, with a side of French toast, sounded good to her. Colress tended to just eat whatever she put out in front of him.

There was a polite knock on the door, and she looked at it in surprise. Colress just mumbled something and burrowed further into the blankets. Turning off the stove and putting the warmed up pan to the side, she headed over to the door to see who had interrupted her cooking.

She opened it and saw a red-headed man she hadn't seen around before. He looked briefly taken aback by her, probably because she was a hybrid and because of how she looked, before he bowed.

"Please excuse the intrusion. I just moved in recently and wanted to introduce myself to my neighbors. I'm Maxie," he finished, finally moving back up.

He held up a gift offering. "Please accept this gift."

Ash almost started staring. She knew it was Japanese tradition for one to greet their neighbors after moving in (and include a small gift), but he was _really_ formal and he seemed like a foreigner.

Which reminded her, why was she running into so many foreigners lately?

She received the gift from him and smiled slightly.

"Thank you for the gift and welcome to here! I'm Ash. Would you like to come in?" she moved to open the door wider, but he held up a hand and smiled apologetically.

"No, that's alright. I don't want to be a bother. Plus, I left my sister in the apartment, and she's attempting to cook," which reminded her that she still had to cook as well.

"Ahhh! I burnt it! I burnt the bacon!" she suddenly heard the screaming from next door.

Maxie looked alarmed, so she guessed that was his new apartment and that had been his sister.

"Please excuse me!" he hurriedly said as he ran to the door and flung it open.

She saw smoke coming out and she raised her eyebrows. Worried, she came after him and saw that the stove was on fire in their home. Maxie was dragging his sister, a dark-haired human girl that seemed around Ash's age, towards the door. However, the fire was still going strong, so Ash rushed passed them.

"Wait! You shouldn't go near the fire –!"

But Ash was already using her arms and hands to smother the fire out, enduring the heat and flames easily, though it did hurt like hell. When she managed to put out the fire, she turned back to the siblings, who were staring at her, though thankfully not in disgust or wariness.

Ash cleared her throat and said wryly, "Um, hybrids tend to be built a little stronger than humans…" Still, her arms and hands stung, but she didn't want them to know that and worry. She could deal with a little pain, at least until she managed to get Colress to help her…

"Ehhh! Brother, we got a pet? So cute~" the girl tossed herself at Ash, and rubbed her cheek against Ash's, who was completely caught off guard by this.

"Idiot," Maxie growled, twitching. He grabbed his sister by the collar of her shirt, and roughly pulled her off of Ash. "Ash is our neighbor. She's a Persian hybrid."

"Oh?" the strange girl asked curiously. "But she's still cute," she pouted.

Holding out a hand, the girl introduced herself as "Courtney" and Ash tentatively shook it.

Courtney rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Heh, it's nice to meet you. I'm glad there are teens around my age around here. It makes me feel less embarrassed about being a _ronin_ and having to study at a _yobiku_."

Ash actually felt rather interested about Courtney's education, but decided that it was probably too early to ask such personal questions to her, after having just met her. Still, she was just itching to blurt out questions.

"Well, there goes our breakfast," Maxie grumbled, and the two girls saw him by the stove, poking at burnt and blackened pieces of what was supposed to be bacon.

"I was just about to cook when you came, Maxie," Ash threw out there. "If you guys wanted, you can come over and have breakfast with me and my roommate?"

"Thank you!" Courtney accepted before Maxie could reject the offer politely. "I'm starving!"

Ash smiled widely and led them to her apartment, where Colress looked like he was just waking after sitting up on the _futon_ mattress. He blinked blearily at them, shoving his glasses further up on his nose.

"What...did I miss?"

Started 12/18/14 – Completed 12/18/14 (Part I)  
Started 12/18/14 – Completed 12/18/14 (Part II)

**A/n: Hehe, Maxie has now arrived! That means Archie is coming up soon~ Kolkolkolkol…Anyway, wow! That's a huge, fantastic surge of alerts and favorites! Thanks, guys! Now how about some reviews, huh? (hinthint)**


	5. Open For Hire?

Disclaimer: My name's certainly not affiliated with Pokémon –not unless I want to be sued .  
Story: Modern world, hybrid AU. Ash Ketchum was a Persian hybrid that worked at a crazy café with her crazy boss Colress. She really didn't want to get entangled with the likes of Giovanni, Cyrus, Maxie, and Archie in their bid to create as many chaos in her life as they could.  
Set as an AU.  
Spoilers: Nope.  
Warnings: Perverts, raunchy humor, weird humor, craziness, etc…  
Pairings: BurntLedgerShipping

**Kitty Claws  
**_Five: Open for Hire?_

So the four of them sort of sat at the small table Colress and Maxie had pulled out of the closet, rather in awkward silence.

"So...what do you do?" Colress asked their new neighbors uncomfortably.

"I'm currently jobless," Maxie said stiffly. "However, our family is wealthy enough and is helping out for the moment."

"I graduated high school," Courtney said next. "I failed the entrance exam to my favored university though. I wanted to go to Tokyo University, but the exam is hard. That's why I have to attend a _yokibu_ nearby. What about you guys?"

Ash always seemed to dread this question.

"I own the ExoCos Café in Shinjuku," Colress answered first. "Ash, who I took in before she started, works there as a waitress."

"Ohh, a café! I probably might need to get a part-time job soon, so are there any part-time openings?" Courtney asked immediately, eyes lighting up at the mention of the café.

Colress smiled apologetically. "Not really, although it's probably not going to be up your alley anyway."

Courtney looked surprised at that. "Oh? How so?"

"It's a cosplay restaurant, with the waitresses wearing French Maid uniforms and all of them being hybrids anyway," Colress said bluntly, and Ash mentally smacked her forehead.

Maxie coughed and choked on his coffee, while instead of being put off, Courtney looked even more excited.

"That sounds cool! I would definitely want to at least be a customer there!"

"You're welcome anytime," Colress smiled widely, though Maxie had finally regained his bearings and was staring at the blond incredulously.

Colress turned to Ash at the moment. "Actually, regarding our café, I was thinking of doing a school-themed week? What do you think?"

"It's almost Christmas next week though," Ash pointed out.

"Right! Then perhaps a Christmas theme next week instead, and then the week after would be our school theme?" Colress looked all fired up.

"I'm okay with it," Ash mused. "I don't think the others would care too much either."

They were all rather used to Colress' antics by then anyway.

Courtney clapped her hands together, grinning eagerly. "Please let me help you guys out with that! I would love to help plan and maybe even design the outfits!"

Colress looked thoughtful. "Perhaps we _can_ have a job for you. It's always great to have others give input and help with the ideas, but we also should have someone design the extra outfits –Brock makes the outfits, but he doesn't come up with the ideas. Fashion, drawing and designing outfits isn't my strong suit either. What do you say, Courtney?"

"I can't wait!" she barely seemed to withhold her squeal.

"Excellent! Let's all work hard together!" Colress started grinning as well.

Ash noticed poor Maxie seemed bewildered and out of the loop. She commiserated, even if she did get what was going on and was keeping up (and admitted she was excited as well).

* * *

The train ride that day was clear of Giovanni or crazy Purrloin stalkers, so Ash only had to deal with a crowded train. Colress, as always, headed to work earlier than she did, hence why she took the train at that time.

Still, with the dirty looks and the press of bodies against her, she kind of wished Giovanni was there that morning, if only to keep everyone away from her and make her feel a little safer.

Deciding that she should just focus on her day, she was glad when the train stopped and she could rush out of there. With no time to spare, she ran to her job, in a hurry like usual.

It was there that she found something different.

Maxie was uncomfortably standing in front of the doors, eying the place with an air of reluctance.

"Maxie? What are you doing here?" she asked, wondering about his presence.

He turned to face her, looking for all the world like he wasn't sure how to answer.

"Like I said earlier, I am in need of a job," he swallowed uneasily. "Courtney has managed to find something of interest to her, and I was hoping that there were other positions that could be filled, despite Colress saying there were no other openings."

"Oh!" Ash wasn't sure what to do, so she led him inside and to where Colress was manning the counter. "Colress, do we really have no openings at all? Maxie needed a job and wanted to ask."

Colress looked at them in surprise. "Well...I suppose I can come up with something. I had been thinking of needing more cooks, since Cilan wanted to go to culinary school and study under Chef Siebold, over in France…"

"Huh? Cilan does? He never said anything to me," Ash started pouting, determined to corner her friend.

"He is, but he wanted it to be a surprise," Colress informed her. "I was thinking of hiring two new cooks soon. Can you cook, Maxie?"

"Yes, I was actually just working as a line cook in a restaurant," Maxie admitted. "I'd been hoping Courtney would be able to learn from me, but…"

Remembering that morning's incident, all three of them winced.

"Then you're hired," Colress nodded surely. "If you're able to start today, you can head into the back and work with Cilan, who can start teaching you all the café basics and what you need to know."

At that moment, a burly man raucously and loudly pushed through the café doors, and headed straight for them. In the process, he ignored and roughly pushed passed Maxie, who fell to the floor from the man's violent walking.

"Hey! My name's Archie and I'm a hella good cook! Says you've got an opening right here," he held up the newspaper. "When can I start?"

Ash had a feeling, just looking at Maxie's fiery glare and Archie's stout ignorance of what just occurred...that these two were going to hate each other from the start, if they actually turned out to work here together.

Colress gave a cheerful smile. "How about right now?"

"Oh, Colress," Ash muttered.

* * *

The day had started with two changes in the café. First was the addition of Maxie. The second was of the addition of Archie.

The two did _not_ get along at all, just as Ash had predicted. They constantly sniped at each other in the kitchens, or wherever else the two tended to be at the same time. They argued about every little thing to do with the menu, ingredients, cooking styles…

"I can't take it anymore!" her friend and fellow hybrid, Cilan, had run from the kitchens and was with Ash in her dressing room as they both took their breaks together.

Cilan, a Pansage hybrid, was a mess. He clutched at his green hair miserably.

"That bad, huh?" Ash asked rhetorically, sympathetically patting his back.

Cilan groaned. "You have no idea. It's like they want to murder each other. And Colress doesn't do anything. He plays ignorant, or if he sees them at it, he just laughs and thinks it's hilarious. He jokes around and says they're like best friends!"

Ash winced. That...sounded like Colress, alright.

"They're good cooks though," Cilan calmed down slightly. "Maxie has a more refined taste, but Archie's got great flavors and isn't shy with portions. They're both awesome, just different. Probably why they clash so much."

She did see how those two were like fire and water, opposite temperaments that did nothing to help them get along. She supposed they were made to fight each other.

"Those don't match at all! The taste will be too acidic," they heard Maxie yell at Archie from somewhere nearby.

"Should've closed the door," Cilan thumped his head against her vanity table.

"No, it won't! It'll work out, you see! You just have no creativity!" Archie yelled back.

"Ugh, one's a traditionalist and the other a radical," Cilan twitched. "It's a nightmare scenario, especially with them working together, in _one_ kitchen."

Ash cooked well, but she had no idea about what he was talking about or what on earth the two were going on about out there either. She just cooked what would taste right to her.

"I'm going to ask Ash," she suddenly heard Maxie say. "She has a wonderful palette and I heard she's a wonderful cook around here. Plus, I did indeed have her cooking, and I agree."

"Wait, what? Catgirl can cook? Heck yeah! Where she at?" Archie was heard next.

Now Ash was the one wishing they'd closed the door.

There was a knock on the door, and it was accidentally pushed opened. Both men sheepishly peered inside.

"Ash, there's a question we'd like you to answer for us. Could you taste this and tell us what you think of it?" Maxie asked for the both of them.

Ash gave a strained smile and stood up, and Maxie held up a spoon with gelatin type food on it. She awkwardly leaned forward and tasted it, and scrunched up her nose after.

"It's slightly acidic," she admitted, and Maxie looked triumphantly over at a downtrodden Archie. "But it's not bad. It could be sweeten up by lessening the amount of whatever's the acidic ingredient, and maybe a touch of sugar."

Archie was the one grinning now, as Maxie looked sourly at him.

"Who's the tightwad now, Maxie? Oh wait, you've always been the tightwad!" Archie boasted.

Maxie, of all things to happen that day, actually snapped and punched Archie across the jaw. Archie retaliated and tackled Maxie out the door.

Cilan blinked and then shook his head, deciding he was going to forget about it and close his eyes and take a nap until his break was over.

Ash was just horrified.

She hurried after them, only to find they were already in the main room, with the customers and other hybrid maids looking disturbed and in shock as the fight broke out. Colress, the moron, was watching in fascination and doing nothing to stop them.

"You guys, cut it out!" Ash cried out.

The doors to the café opened and Cyrus, her customer of the day before, entered and looked bewildered at the destruction and chaos he'd just stepped into.

Ash laughed weakly.

"Um...welcome home, Master?"

Started 12/18/14 – Completed 12/18/14 (Part I)  
Started 12/18/14 – Completed 12/18/14 (Part II)

**A/n: (whistling) Things sure did escalate quickly, eh? Kesesese…Anyway, thanks so much to all those who have been reading this, and for all the support you guys have given so far! There's been a tremendous outpouring of support, and many alerts and favs. Can I hope to get some more reviews out of you wonderful people too? Pretty please?**


	6. Problem? No Problem!

Disclaimer: My name's certainly not affiliated with Pokémon –not unless I want to be sued .  
Story: Modern world, hybrid AU. Ash Ketchum was a Persian hybrid that worked at a crazy café with her crazy boss Colress. She really didn't want to get entangled with the likes of Giovanni, Cyrus, Maxie, and Archie in their bid to create as many chaos in her life as they could.  
Set as an AU.  
Spoilers: Nope.  
Warnings: Perverts, raunchy humor, weird humor, craziness, etc…  
Pairings: BurntLedgerShipping

**Kitty Claws  
**_Chapter Six: Problem? No Problem!_

Ash, if she was angry, was being companionable and cheerful enough for her customer, not allowing anything to show through to Cyrus.

But her hackles were raised, and with the deceivingly dark –but smiley –looks she kept sending towards Maxie and Archie (both of whom had been conscripted into helping out with the hybrid waitresses), everyone was on eggshells. Her smile fooled no one –she was ready to take her claws out, if she was further aggravated.

"A little harsh, don't you think?" Iris asked her in amusement.

Ash turned her deceiving smile of doom towards her. "Harsh? Not even enough."

Iris' tusks shook, clearly entertained with all this. But well, she supposed those two did deserve Ash's ire.

"If they want to fight like cats and dogs, they should look it, eh?" Ash said darkly, her expression darkening as well.

Iris gulped and chuckled nervously, nodding her head and moving slowly away.

As for Maxie and Archie, the two were respectively wearing cosplay cat and dog ears and tails. They also weren't allowed to communicate besides barking or meowing.

With Ash looming over them, fiery background of hell behind her and her blood red jewel on her forehead glinting ominously, there was absolutely no way they were going to be defiant and say no to her. So they were completely going along with whatever she wanted and made them do, because the Persian hybrid was like a hellcat at the moment.

Cyrus still didn't know what was going on though, and he was further confused as to who the two new additions were. The two new _male_ additions, and who weren't hybrids (despite the attached fake appendages).

"Ah, Master, would you like another fresh bowl of ramen?" Ash asked him, smiling regularly.

Cyrus blinked. "No thank you. Perhaps I shall try the _sata andagi_," he remembered her menu.

She smiled brightly at him, which made him feel warm. He frowned at himself inwardly and dismissed the feeling. "Coming right up!" she said, already working to create the sweet deep fried buns.

Ash looked to be making enough for the whole day, in case other customers were to be ordering or to be included with the café's regular collection of food and desserts around the display case or to go. But it did make Cyrus pleased that he would get to have the first and freshest set of the sweets, and be personally be given them by her.

"How's work, Master?" Ash asked curiously, also cautiously remembering that that crazy ass Purrloin hybrid worked for him.

Cyrus looked thoughtful. "Fine, I suppose," he stoically answered. "My closest and highest-ranked subordinates were troublesome, but that is the usual. I have also ordered and restrained Jupiter from using the train," he tacked on, trying to reassure her. "She will not trouble you there when you come and go from work."

Ash beamed at him happily. "Great! Thanks a lot, Master. It's actually kinda a relief."

Cyrus gave a brief smile, but it was extremely brief and small, so Ash wasn't sure she even saw it. In fact, it could even pass for just being her imagination. Cyrus really didn't like or seem to want to express himself and his emotions so freely, but Ash was starting to feel determined and a little mischievous, and decided she was going to try her best to pry every little emotion and reaction out of the restrained guy.

Giggling, she trekked over to him as her dessert pastries were put into the oven, and playfully rubbed her furred cheek against his. She could feel, especially with the heightened sensitivity of her whiskers brushing against him, that his face had rapidly gotten warm. That was minus the fact her dumb whiskers were making _her_ feel all ticklish. Pulling out her phone, she selected the camera and switched the view in reverse.

"Selfie!" she grinned widely and took the picture of the two of them.

She pulled away slowly, and looked to see that he still had the faint traces of a blush on his otherwise stoic face. She gave him a wink and trotted over to the oven to check on her sweet buns. He was such a funny guy…

* * *

"Hey, why don't you ever do anything?" May poked at Colress, her feathers ruffling irritably. "Like with those two numbskulls earlier. You just stood there, watching them as they brawled all over your café and in front of everyone. You should've done something about it."

Colress tilted his head in curiosity. "Do something? Like what?"

"Like, I don't know! Interfered or something?" May said in exasperation.

"Interfere? But why? Those two were entertaining. I was certainly entertained, and I bet everyone was too," Colress said cheerfully.

May gave him an incredulous look. "You're kidding, right?"

"No," Colress said bluntly. "Besides, it would've been so boring if I had stepped in. Better to let them fight it out, let them suffer the consequences while the rest of us just laugh at them," the blond remarked matter-of-factly.

May almost felt like banging her head against something. Why was Colress always like this?

"I find it very therapeutic to watch those two go at it and enjoy myself," he laughed to add insult to injury. "Hell, they should find it therapeutic! Get it all out there, dissolve the tension and just beat each other to a pulp. Stuff like that or something."

Or something. Yeah, like 'or something.'

May face palmed and remembered that this was the reason she and the others just let Ash deal with Colress. This man was horrible.

"Go be a nuisance at the cashier, Colress," May huffed. "I don't think I can stand to be around you anymore, right now. Only Ash can deal with you in large amounts of headache-inducing time."

She turned on her heel sharply and marched away, determined to get away before his stupidity spread to her.

* * *

While that was going, Ash had just gotten the desserts out and was placing a few on a plate for Cyrus, when the café's lone television was playing the news and something rather interesting came up. Her big smile faltered and she watched the news in trepidation.

"_As of today, the Plasmid Foundation is proud to present its own contribution to the alternate energy source race! Using current technology and technology we have been in the process of developing and producing, we have harnessed and converted an energy source that is called Aura. With its natural inflection, it is easily obtainable and can be converted for our everyday uses within days of its containment!_

"_No longer will we all have to rely on the rapidly diminishing fossil fuel production, or even the lackluster and unsatisfactory alternatives that are available now. With Plasmid Foundation's new solution to the energy problem, we'll be able to move forward to the future with an ability to flourish like nothing before."_

The announcement went on for a little while longer before switching to something else, but Ash was already tuning out and trying hard not to grimace outwardly. She didn't want to worry her customer after all. But still…

Matthew, her dear (if sometimes annoying) psychic friend had told her all about that organization. He attended some obscure hidden school that was only for hybrids, and he –along with many of the students and faculty there –were much more informed of the rather darker nature of the Plasmid Foundation.

She hadn't liked the sound of them, and even now wouldn't trust anything they said publicly. What they were in public would never be what they were behind the scenes, and people were easily fooled and dazzled.

Ash took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face. There was nothing she could do about them or the situation anyway. As Matthew told her, the group seemed to be more or less targeting his school, so long as she kept her head down…

But with a café run by and filled with a bunch of hybrids, it was just asking for trouble.

"You look troubled," Cyrus immediately noted when she was by his side, setting the plate with the confectionaries in front of him.

Ash shrugged lightly, giving a small but still rather playful grin. "Maybe I'm up to trouble."

"If you are, then please don't drag me into it," he said dryly, but that he returned back a snarky reply showed he did indeed have some bit of a sense of humor.

"Aww, but Master~" she pouted with her eyes twinkling. She dropped into the seat opposite him and grabbed one of the sweet buns, holding it up to his lips and causing another involuntary flush of red of his cheeks. "Eat up now, Master. I made it just for you," she sing-songed.

He cleared his throat in embarrassment. "Y-you don't have to do that."

She wagged the delicious dessert slightly. "Don't worry, it's part of the services. So say 'ahhh' and open up, my darling Master!"

Okay, she might be overdoing it and playing it all up, but she loved these kinds of customers. The easily riled up ones, the easily flustered? They were always so much more fun and entertaining to be with.

Sometime after that, Cyrus had left to go back to work, having only taken a lunch break to come there. Ash then loomed over the newly hired cooks, causing both Maxie and Archie to freeze up and slowly turn to face her.

"Woof woof?" Archie gave her a large cheesy grin, while also on guard.

"Good doggie," Ash deadpanned. "You two go back to the kitchens and help Cilan. If I hear one more fight outta you two though…" she said warningly, narrowing her catlike eyes at them.

"Woof!" "Meow!" the two said in unison and ran back to the back.

Ash hurrumphed! and glared at their retreating backs. Colress sidled up to her, grinning slightly.

"Things sure are lively, aren't they?"

"Of course _you're_ entertained and happy with all this," she slapped his shoulder gently. "You really should consider seeing a psychologist or something."

Colress hmmed before he suddenly looked serious, which made Ash worry.

"You were worried about the Plasmid Foundation report," he noted correctly. She winced. "Perhaps I should invest in hiring some bodyguards," Colress continued. "It's been pure luck we haven't been hit with something, whether it's from them or some crazed up human who thinks hybrids are abominations…"

"You know, you're human," Ash pointed out, interjecting some humor before she would let herself worry more. "You keep addressing yourself like a hybrid. Which would be fine, if you really saw yourself as one…but I know you don't."

Colress sighed dramatically and playfully pouted, glomping her tightly. "Ehhh? But Ash-kitty! I'm part of the group~"

"Should I be worried you think of us like pets then?" she rolled her eyes as she tried to pry his arms off of her.

Colress rubbed the side of his face against hers. "But I don't, silly Ashy. Except you though."

She bopped his head.

He laughed lightly, moving away. He did give her a soft smile with his serious look back on.

"I do adore you, Ash. And if you feel unsafe, rest assured that I _will_ make a way for you to feel safe here, even if I have to hire a dozen bodyguards," Colress thoughtfully patted her head, looking up distantly and as if he was seriously contemplating doing that.

"Don't be silly," Ash griped playfully, though she did feel touched at his usual concern and care towards her. "Besides, where would you get the money to do all that?"

"Maybe I'm a trust fund baby."

"And I think you've been a con artist your entire life."

Colress just chuckled and patted her head one more time.

* * *

"Ready to go, Ash?" Colress asked while handing her a takeout bag.

Ash nodded cheerfully, taking it and holding it securely.

"Where she going?" Archie whispered to Cilan, who frowned but deigned to answer him (despite the fact both he and Maxie were terrors and absolutely divas in the kitchen and Cilan really couldn't stand the two at the moment –not after earlier, and especially with Ash irritable with them).

"We do takeout," Cilan informed them. "Among this group, Ash is the best at delivering takeout quickly and efficiently."

"Why is that?" Maxie asked curiously.

"She's a natural _traceuse_," Serena said, coming up from behind them. "The others tell me that she's fantastic at instinctively using parkour to get around, especially with her species' natural ability to be graceful and limber. Plus she's the fastest of us as well. Feline features and all. Misty and Dawn would probably be the best at things like swimming or whatever with water, while Ash will probably be more like a drowned cat. Iris is the most resilient and hard to injure, due to her skin. I've got speed, not like Ash though, but May and I are the most heat-resistant."

"Huh," Archie said attentively. He'd actually never met hybrids before, and this was all interesting stuff. "So who ordered takeout this time?"

"A regular customer," Colress joined them. "We don't do a lot of takeout because the café is a little low profile, despite the fact it's run by and filled with hybrids. But there are certainly some loyal customers that enjoy Ash and Cilan's food. I expect the two of you to keep up Cilan's delicious trend," he addressed the new cooks at the end.

Of course, he wasn't exactly going to mention the fact that the customer in question was a former employer of his…a very grumpy, easily irritated man named Ghetsis.

Started 5/15/15 – Completed 5/19/15

**A/n: Slowly making my way into making chapters longer, so hope you guys appreciate it ;p But wow, there's like a crap load of people faving and alerting this story! It's amazing. Let's start including them reviews, eh? Mwahaha!**

* * *

**Quick Points:**

1\. Hybrids: I mentioned somewhere in a chapter that they're rare, so don't expect every character you know from the anime/games will end up being one. Sorry if there was a character you wanted as a hybrid, but they're not supposed to be a lot of them around!

2\. IPI: This story is branch story of the IPI collaboration, so if you want to know or read some background of stuff mentioned (i.e. Matthew is a main character from there, along with the Plasmid Foundation being the current main villains), head on over and read my friend's Pokémon hybrid story that started this part of the collab.


	7. Taxi Girls and Mob Bosses

Disclaimer: My name's certainly not affiliated with Pokémon –not unless I want to be sued .  
Story: Modern world, hybrid AU. Ash Ketchum was a Persian hybrid that worked at a crazy café with her crazy boss Colress. She really didn't want to get entangled with the likes of Giovanni, Cyrus, Maxie, and Archie in their bid to create as many chaos in her life as they could.  
Set as an AU.  
Spoilers: Nope.  
Warnings: Perverts, raunchy humor, weird humor, craziness, etc…  
Pairings: BurntLedgerShipping

**Kitty Claws  
**_Chapter Seven: Taxi Girls and Mob Bosses_

Ash darted quickly between people, and jumped over a bench. Her legs were like springs as she easily bolted over things, or sprung off surfaces to propel herself from them and to rapidly keep moving. And all the while, she held the food safely in her clutches.

She was good at doing stuff like this. She hardly ever had an issue with traffic –whether that meant cars or even people. Buildings were never in the way.

That's why, in no time at all, Ash had reached a certain customer's house. When she fully expected Ghetsis to come to the door, instead she was face to face with someone she hadn't seen in a long time –N, Ghetsis' son and currently a student at a private school (something like the United Nations International School) overseas.

Who was also a Zoroark hybrid, who used his illusions to his advantage and wore a disguise as he attended school like a "normal human."

Shrieking in delight, Ash –with all the grace of her feline species –pounced on him, nuzzling his neck and near where normally she knew his glossy red mane would be.

"Ah, Ash! You're here," N smiled widely. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Ehh, why didn't you call and tell me you were back? How long are you back? Why are you here? Are you done studying overseas? How was New York?" Ash shot question after question at him, but N took it in stride.

"I'll be here for a long while," N revealed. "Given how I've graduated and will be starting at Tokyo University after winter break."

He smiled again at her happy squeal and yet another glomp from her.

"N! Is that the food?" They could hear Ghetsis from the living room.

The two of them traded amused looks.

"Your dad's always a grump," Ash told N, as they traveled through the house to where Ghetsis was waiting.

"He is," N agreed in amusement. "But he's always been the type to not want to show he feels. He's awkward with his 'feelings,'" they snickered together. "He's awkward."

"He's an awkward grump."

They burst into giggles together again, not even stopping when they reached the living room and saw Ghetsis slouching on his favorite armchair and flipping irritably through the channels of the TV.

"Food's here, Dad," N told him, smoothly allowing his illusion over himself to dissipate. At once, when N's glossy red mane appeared, Ash glomped him again and happily nuzzled against its softness.

Ghetsis got up and went over, thrusting his hands out. "Food," he insisted.

Ash handed it over and blissfully continued to rub her face against N's soft fur. N just chuckled.

"Are you staying over for lunch, Ash?" N asked her.

She pouted as she moved away. "Nuh uh. I've got to go back and get to work. But first!"

She marched over to Ghetsis, who was wearing that ridiculous long coat of his and her hands lashed out to grab the folds and try to take it off.

"Ghetsis, you can't wear this thing all the time! It's too hot for a coat today, you big grump!"

Ghetsis tried to fend her off with one hand, as the other was preoccupied with holding the bag holding the containers of food.

"It's not a coat! It's a _cloak_! There's a difference!"

"It's still too hot for it!"

"I don't care!"

N chuckled, moving over to the kitchen and getting plates and utensils for his father and himself to use, and setting them up at the table.

* * *

Giovanni was rich, and he had taste. At the moment, he couldn't quite figure out how he was in front of this sushi place, when he was sure there must've been a dozen other more famous and more expensive, better sushi restaurants in that city alone. Instead, he was in front of Aizawa's Wayside, a small, nice sushi bar that was settled into a homely area.

"_I want the best sushi in Tokyo ready for when I come! Aizawa's Wayside!"_

Well, he was here…

Entering the small place, he was quick to be sat at the counter, and made his order. He might as well try it out first, see if it was any good.

By the time he received his order and tasted it though, he could definitely see and understand why that cute Persian hybrid adored this place. It really was delicious, and far better than any of the other sushi places he'd been to.

Making several orders to go, he was ready to go find that café of hers, so that they could talk further about her part-time "employment" with him.

Although, by the time he reached her café, he was once again taken aback. It was small as well, but definitely modernly decorated and styled. He could tell, just from the outside of it. The name "ExoCos Café" was emblazoned on the sign that was built onto the building, using elegantly curled letters and colored a scarlet red that he approved of.

It was the inside that really caught him off guard and made him hesitate, nearly gaping outwardly –a reaction he didn't permit himself most times.

All of the employees were hybrids, a surprising thing considering their rarity and the prejudices against them. But he wasn't unused to them or hybrids being employed, given his own company actively employed them as well.

It was what they were wearing and the way the restaurant was played out.

He'd suddenly realized, in a dazed manner, that he'd entered one of those cosplay restaurants he had only heard about through stories and word of mouth.

And realizing that, he was more than surprised to understand that this was Ash's place of work. That she actually worked at one of these places. It was a bizarre thought, but at the same time he could actually see the place didn't seem too bad. The hybrids seemed content and even happy, and the customers well-behaved. The place wasn't overly done on the inside, and seemed well put together and tasteful.

The French Maid outfits were…something though.

Although the thought of Ash in one of those made him twitch and quickly divert his thoughts to something else quickly, and thankfully a blond male (a human this time) came over to him with a pleasant smile.

"Hello, I'm Colress, owner of this restaurant. Would you like a seat?" the blond surprised him by saying.

"Is Ash here?" he immediately asked. And just to be safe, "She's a Persian hybrid?"

Suddenly, Colress blinked and looked at him owlishly. "Ehh? How do you know Ash-kitty?"

Ash…kitty?

"I met her on the train," Giovanni hesitantly answered. "We became acquainted during the rush hour."

Colress nodded slowly. "Well…she should be back around now, from her take-out run. I'm sure she's –"

The doors of the restaurant were flung open, and Ash happily sprung into the building.

"I'm back!"

Giovanni was taken aback by her entrance, but once he'd registered that she actually was in one of those French Maid uniforms, his mind shut down momentarily. Ash caught sight of him in the meanwhile.

"Oh! Giovanni! You're here," she said in surprise. Then she blushed and looked at him shyly, her whiskers twitching a bit. "W-Welcome home, Master."

His eyes widened at the address and he looked back between Colress and her, taking a guess (after a moment of further shock) that it was a custom greeting for a customer. Ash bowed politely and gestured for him to follow her, and he was led to the table in what was apparently her section of the room. She handed him a menu anxiously and he looked through it, still having not said anything to her yet. He didn't mean to keep silent, but he was still processing everything and getting used to it.

But then he read the menu and which made him actually gape this time.

What was this about ear cleaning and being slapped? Were there actually people who came in and ordered those services? What weirdoes would do that?

"Are you hungry or thirsty at least? We could at least start off with that," she offered, shifting nervously and giving him a small smile.

Then he remembered his gift, and handed it to her. "Sushi, as she requested."

Her beaming face made him relax, and she eagerly took out the sushi. Retrieving plates, she separated the sushi evenly between the two plates and then gave one to him and sat across from him with her own. She happily dug in, moaning in appreciation.

"Glad you're enjoying it," his lips twitched upward, sincerely glad (though he could have done without listening to her moan; it made him feel odd).

"Mmhm!"

"Let's just enjoy these first, and then we'll talk," he offered, and she agreed with that easily.

* * *

"Psst!" Archie continued to lean out and peer around the door.

"Get back in here, you!" Cilan said in exasperation.

"Hey, hey. How the heck does Ash know _Giovanni Rocketto_?" Archie ignored him, still watching with wide eyes.

At that, both Cilan and Maxie zoomed over to join him, curiously wanting to know what he was talking about. Instead, they were treated to watching Ash and the infamous business tycoon eating sushi at Ash's table, and getting questions themselves as to how Ash knew the CEO.

"I heard he was a dangerous man," Archie whispered, still going on. "In fact, I heard he was in the mob. He's in the mafia, guys!"

Cilan twitched, while Maxie looked at him in horror.

"You think Ash owes him or something?" Archie continued. "Maybe he's here to threaten her family and friends, and to break her thumbs –"

Cilan had enough, and grabbed the idiotic human's collar and yanked him back into the kitchen. Maxie took one last worried look at Ash, before reluctantly following after, hoping Archie was just exaggerating and had an overactive imagination.

Right?

* * *

Ash and Giovanni finished their food rather quickly. It was then that Giovanni got serious and sat up straight in his chair, still trying to ignore how Ash was wearing that frilly, tight uniform, and watching him eagerly.

"So I was hoping that we could talk about our arrangement some more? And hopefully figure out something already," Giovanni told her. When she nodded an okay, he continued. "How about, since you work here until 7, I come around a little before then? I don't mind setting up a time as a customer here, and when you're done, I could take you with me back to the workplace. I work late most days, so it would be appreciated."

Ash thought about it. "Yeah, I guess I can stick around for a few hours."

"And afterwards, I or someone I assign to you, can drive you home," Giovanni concluded. "Weekends still okay?"

"Still fine," she nodded cheerily.

Colress suddenly appeared and stuck his head between them, startling them. "What's this? What's going on?"

Giovanni could feel himself sweatdrop as Ash exasperatedly told the blond about the offer, and he could guess the other (aside from being her employer) must've been a close friend.

Colress started nodding, and Giovanni wondered if this was the time where the other would now demand more money from him in order to take her (knowing who Giovanni was and all), but all he did was shove a pen and a pad of paper towards Giovanni.

"What's this?" Giovanni reluctantly grabbed them.

"Start writing~!" Colress smiled widely. "Ash-kitty likes sweet things, and soft things, and oh, she likes nice hair –"

Giovanni's eyes widened and he started to hurriedly scribble. "Wait, wait! Hold on!"

And then Colress shoved a bell at him. "Also, it's best to tie this on her, 'cause she's very quiet and fast, and you never know what hit you until she got you!"

"Colress!"

Ash had enough and jumped from her chair, storming over to Colress and grabbing the man by the ear with her claws. She started pulling on it, dragging him away like that.

"Ow, ow!" Colress cried. "Ash-kitty, I'm sorry!"

But she ignored him, and Giovanni just watched with raised eyebrows and a bit of shock.

"And watch out for her tail!" Colress yelled at Giovanni. "If it's up, she's gonna pounce!"

And then the two of them disappeared behind the back doors, shutting closed loudly behind them.

* * *

Cilan was having a well-deserved break from the kitchens. How couldn't it be well-deserved, after dealing with those two morons all day? In any case, he was just glad to be away from Archie and Maxie and semi-relax, even if he was still manning the counter and register.

The entrance door opened and Cilan turned to greet the newcomer, only to have his words die in his throat. The hulking figure that entered towered over Cilan, with gleaming red eyes against the gray skin of this hybrid (what species was he? None that Cilan had ever heard of!). A gold crown-like shape encircled his head (was it a he?), with two horns going sideways. Several gold half-rings were attached to his neck, and Cilan had the strongest feeling all of that was a part of this hybrid's body, and not actually jewelry adornments.

That was nothing on the two ghostly black wings slightly extended from the hybrid's back, with red tips that resembled claws.

Cilan gulped and stuttered out, "H-How may I help you?"

"I WANT SUKIYAKI!" the hybrid's voice was growly, even as it was loud, when he demanded the food.

Cilan stared, frozen to his spot, his green tail hiding behind himself. Thankfully, Ash came to his rescue, gently patting his shoulder before she pulled him behind her and smiled widely at the customer. Cilan could swear that there were freaking sparkles surrounding her. A sparkling aura…

"_Sukiyaki_, sir?" she asked, unaffected by the hybrid's huge size or intimidating presence.

"YES."

Cilan whimpered, but Ash grinned even more widely and gave the hybrid a double v-sign.

"Alright, mister! One _sukiyaki_ order coming right up! For here or to go, sir?" Ash asked, still unfazed.

"…I WILL EAT HERE."

Cilan flinched, but Ash was still having no problems. She turned to him, her grin softening to a fond smile at the green Pansage hybrid.

"I'll take it from here, Cilan. Why don't you cook the _sukiyaki_, and I'll get this guy settled at my table, okay?"

He gave her a small smile and nodded, and turned to ironically hurry back to the kitchens. And he had just been desperate to get out of there earlier…

Looking back, he was just amazed to see Ash chattering as she led the huge hybrid to her section, still not bothered or even remotely scared by the other hybrid. And later, when she would tell him about it, he wouldn't believe (at all) that she somehow managed to get the hybrid to speak at a lower volume, and they even managed to talk about as mundane topics as the weather to how one would either simmer or slowly cook the meat in one's _sukiyaki_.

"Maybe he was just hungry?" Ash said.

Cilan gave her a blank look.

Started 9/1/15 – Completed 9/2/15

**A/n: Sorry it's been awhile! I got really stuck after lack of motivation, and trouble writing this out. But yay! N is a hybrid, due to popular demand, and the original stories' author liking the Zoroark theory as well and giving the okay. I hope everyone enjoyed this, and please, please review!**


	8. My Soul's a Raging Fire

Disclaimer: My name's certainly not affiliated with Pokémon –not unless I want to be sued .  
Story: Modern world, hybrid AU. Ash Ketchum was a Persian hybrid that worked at a crazy café with her crazy boss Colress. She really didn't want to get entangled with the likes of Giovanni, Cyrus, Maxie, and Archie in their bid to create as many chaos in her life as they could.  
Set as an AU.  
Spoilers: Nope.  
Warnings: Perverts, raunchy humor, weird humor, craziness, etc…  
Pairings: BurntLedgerShipping

**Kitty Claws  
**_Chapter Eight: My Soul's a Raging Fire_

Ash was humming as she cleaned up her station. In an hour, it would be closing time and she was sure she wouldn't be getting any more customers then. The bell rung and she looked towards the entrance to see who it was, blushing slightly to see Giovanni hesitantly enter. He looked around before spotting her and she waved. He gave a slight smile and headed her way.

"How much for a manicure?" he drawled.

"$20-25 for a standard manicure, $30-35 for deluxe manicures," she replied succinctly.

He blinked. "Ah…yeah…good to know. I was…joking."

Her face flushed red and she gave him a sheepish smile that he returned with an awkward one.

"How long do you have to go before it's time for you to close up shop?" he asked curiously.

"An hour," she answered. "I'm just cleaning already though, because I'm sure I won't have any more customers."

He nodded. "Well, how about I'll be your last one? Keep you busy until it's time? Plus, it'll also make sure that you won't have to deal with another customer if I'm the one taking up your time."

Though surprised, it made sense so she agreed. "What would you like for me to do?"

Now he seemed unsure. "I don't know. What would you, uh, recommend?"

She suddenly gained a mischievous grin at that.

"Well…about that manicure…"

* * *

When Giovanni skeptically agreed to actually try out a manicure, he had no idea that Ash would be leading him to the back and that there was this whole full salon setup back there. After having gone through a door with her, he was amazed to find that there was a whole large room dedicated to spa services and there were desks on one side that dealt with manicures and the other side held rows with those chairs usually used for pedicures.

"This place is deceptively a lot bigger than it looks from the outside," Giovanni told her.

She shrugged. "Yeah, you'll find this place is oddly huge, even if the storefront seems small –well not _small_ –but compared to its actual size…."

Giovanni could bet. The café itself was moderately sized compared to a regular café, but if it had all these other additions not shown about and was even larger than that…it seemed amazing to think of the place's actual size.

"Sit right here while I get everything prepared," Ash said cheerfully, leading him to a seat at one of the manicure desks. Her hands on him felt warm and comfortable, and he felt disappointed when she left him and her warmth disappeared.

He watched her move about, getting things she needed before she came back over to him and began to set things up on the desk.

"Have you ever gotten a manicure –"

"Absolutely not," he declared, cutting her off.

She giggled and smiled widely. "Right, sorry for asking."

His cheeks pinked slightly, but he refused to show his embarrassment. He stayed quiet as he sat there, continuing to watch as she grabbed one of his hands and soaked it in warm water that she had also added some kind of solution to (and of which smelled like…lavender?). Still, when she started to use her thumbs to knead out his hand, he inwardly admitted it wasn't so bad so far and it did feel rather nice. She ripped open another packet, smelling still of lavender, and squeezed it onto his hand. Realizing it was some kind of lotion or hand cream, he awkwardly sat there as she massaged his hand.

"It smells like lavender," he found himself blurting out.

"Mmhm! We also offer green tea, peaches, mango…we've actually got lots of choices! I just thought lavender would be nice for you, since it's for stress and you said you get stressed easily~"

If his cheeks turned a darker red, he still refused to acknowledge it.

After a few minutes of that, she grabbed a warm wet towel and wiped his hand clean, before having him rest it onto a hand rest that she'd put the towel on. With his hand oddly feeling soft and sensitive, the feel of her silky fur brushing against it felt oddly nice. She then started in on his nails, cutting them down and then filing them to a roundness. She started cleaning up the cuticles with some kind of metal stick and then wiping them clean with the warm towel under his hand. And then after she was finishing, she took out a clear nail paint thing that he stared blankly at, and began painting his nails.

"It's not actually nail paint," she told him wryly, though she was focused on what she was doing. "It's a clear base coating used to strengthen nails and put back moisture."

He relaxed a little, but still admitted to himself that this was a little weird. But by the time she was done, he also admitted it hadn't been too bad and had actually felt nice and relaxing in the end. By the time she started in on his other hand, he had relaxed completely and stopped being weirded out, deciding to just enjoy the hand treatment.

By the time she was done, he had become curious about pedicures.

"Um…so about those pedicures…"

She laughed loudly in delight, while he swore he would never admit to doing this to anyone. Ever.

* * *

After he was done, he waited patiently by the door as Ash finished putting stuff away and they went back to the café, where Colress blew past them as he ran screaming while being chased by Misty. Both Giovanni and Ash blinked, before Ash turned to an exasperated Cilan, who had appeared near her.

"Do I want to know?"

"Nope," Cilan deadpanned. There was a crash and yelling from the now familiar bickering from Maxie and Archie, making Cilan twitch. "Besides, I have my own idiots I've had to deal with today."

Ash bit back her giggles, though Giovanni was clearly bemused.

"You have odd co-workers," he commented to her and she completely agreed. She found she really adored them all though.

"Oh, Ash-kitty~" Colress noticed her there and came towards her, finally having escaped away from running from Misty. He saw Giovanni there too. "Ah! Is it that time already?"

Ash looked at the clock and saw it was closing time. "Yep. I'll see you either later tonight, or if you're already asleep, tomorrow morning." She missed the startled look from Giovanni.

"Mmkay! Bai bai~" Colress pouted slightly, but then got distracted as Misty finally found him and had caught up. "Eck!"

He resumed running away and Ash shook her head. She said goodbye to everyone else, wondering at the worried looks from Archie and Maxie (though Archie also looked pitying for some reason?), and then left with Giovanni. She eyed his car, looking back at him in thought. He really _was_ pretty rich, by the looks of his ride.

"So your boss," Giovanni started as they got into his car and he started it up. "You live with him?"

Ash rubbed at the ruby jewel on her forehead, biting her lip as she remembered her dream and how she'd met Colress.

"I do," she answered quietly.

"Are you two…?" he asked and it took her a moment before she got what he was asking.

Her face burned red and she waved her hands around in a panic. "No! That's not it at all!"

He gave her an amused look, though he was oddly kind of relieved about that.

Ash coughed and averted her eyes. "When I was living alone on the streets," her voice turned soft and her face became upset as she remembered, "I was really hungry and wanted to eat a sweet from the Farmer's Market that was opened that morning. I was chased away after the owner's stand threw one at me, and I found a place where I could relax and eat it. It was away from humans…I just wanted to be away from you all…"

The sorrow in her tone and on her face made him glance at her and frown, though he hadn't wanted to be lumped in with the rest of the humans she wanted to be away from.

"Colress found me there," Ash said then, looking up at him. "He had a bag of those sweets and gave them to me, knowing I was still hungry. He was my first friend and the first person to be kind to me after I left my home."

"And he took care of you after?" he asked, feeling his curiosity heightening, though he avoided mentioning any about her leaving her home. It seemed too personal then.

Ash smiled brightly. "He did! He took me in and let me stay with him, and I had a place to sleep and live in, and was able to eat more steadily than I had been. But even better, I wasn't alone anymore."

He was glad for her and felt himself feel grateful to the strange and eccentric blond man he'd been introduced to earlier.

"I'm glad you met him," he told her sincerely.

"Me too," Ash hummed and then he finally started to drive. "In any case, he got the idea of the café sometime later, and drafted me into helping him plan it out and get it started. And then we started recruiting, and suddenly we had a cosplay café that was sort of popular."

Thinking back to the café he'd visited, Giovanni shook his head slightly. "It is a rather unique café. I'd say it's one of a kind, and I doubt there's anything like it, even with a lot of the other cosplay cafés that exist."

Ash beamed at him. "Despite being exasperated and sometimes a little embarrassed about working there, to be honest…I'm really actually pretty proud of the café!"

That got him to smile and he reached over and gently rubbed her head without taking his eyes off the road, smiling more so at the pleased purring coming from her.

* * *

In his office, she couldn't help looking around in awe and gaping slightly. Giovanni's office was enormous! And he had couches there and there and there too, and there was some kind of expresso machine to the side, and she thought that could've been some sort of –

"Are you alright?" she heard Giovanni ask and she turned to him with wide eyes.

"Your office is so huge," she gave him an impressed look.

He smirked a little. "Glad you think so. You can make yourself at home whenever you're here, alright?" Then he looked awkwardly at her. "So, um, how do we…?"

Ash tilted her head at him before getting it and blushing. "Oh, right. Um, what do you have to work on?"

Giovanni gestured to the stack of papers at his desk. "I need to look over those and sign if I have to."

"So we go over to your desk?" she asked awkwardly.

He looked over to the couches. "How about I just bring those papers over to these couches and we can sit comfortably there? It's cold so I can also start the fireplace."

"Um, okay," she fidgeted in place.

Giovanni grabbed his papers and settled them onto the coffee table in front of said couches, and then went over to the electrical fireplace in front of that couch set and turned it on. It started to warm up a little and he sat at the couch, to which he looked over to her and had an expectant look that Ash's blush darkened at. Still feeling awkward about this whole thing, she tentatively slinked over and sat next to him. After a moment of weirdness, he reached over and began rubbing her head, occasionally focusing on her ears.

She easily and quickly melted at that, going into a daze as she purred in pleasure. Without noticing, she'd practically laid herself across his lap and relaxed, while after a moment of getting used to this, he reached over and grabbed one of the papers and began reading.

Through the warmth of the room because of the fireplace, the daze she was in through the petting, and the overall contentedness she found herself in, she wasn't surprised to find herself uncaring about her position or situation by then, or the fact she was starting to feel her eyes close.

"If you need to sleep, it's alright…" she heard him murmur.

It was the last thing she heard before she did end up falling asleep.

For him, there was a warmth in his eyes as he watched her for a moment, and a warmth inside of him that had nothing to do with the heat of the fireplace.

* * *

Archie sniffled, holding up a handkerchief to his eye.

"Poor Ash. She should have a wonderful funeral. With good food at the reception. I'll cater," he cheered up slightly.

Maxie hit the other's head. "Idiot! She's fine. She's not going to be killed. And if anyone caters for her funeral reception, I'll be doing the catering!"

They then began to bicker, starting to get into each other's faces.

Cilan sighed before facing a bruised up Colress. "You don't actually think Giovanni Rocketto is going to kill her, right? Maybe he's not really part of the mob…"

"Meh, he seems mob-type," Colress shrugged, causing Cilan to become alarmed. "But I think Ash will be fine. If anything, I think he likes her. Maybe Ash-kitty will become a Mafia Princess!"

Cilan sweatdropped at his boss. Honestly, the man…

Still, he didn't think he'd like it if Ash became part of the Mafia either. That was just crazy! Right?

Started 8/19/16 – Completed 8/20/16

**A/n: Long time no see? Ahhh, I'm sorry! This has taken a backseat in order for me to catch up with the main collab's project with the Books. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and please remember to review!**

* * *

**Anon Reviews:**

1\. Guest: Thanks! As for when I update, I try to update this on Fridays, and hope now to get back to a more regular and steady update to it, but no guarantees, sorry!

2\. Guest 2: Sorry it's taken so long for me to update! I hope you're still interested in this~

3\. Guest 3: Thanks! I'm glad you love it!


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